SA presscon ng Love is Love ay diretsahang tinanong si Raymond Bagatsing kung straight guy siya o bading.
“I don’t know! Mahirap magsalita ng tapos, eh. All I know is I appreciate everyone, I appreciate people, human being, feelings, I appreciate love. Matagal ko ng tinatanong ‘yan being an artist kasi I’m very close to a lot of gay people, actually to my bestfriends, I’m very close to men, macho alike. I’m very close to a lot of girls, platonic or it could be in a relationship, it doesn’t really matter.
“So, I asked myself, ano ba? I find men good looking, I find gay good looking, I find peoples’ heart best looking, so hindi ko masasabi ‘yun (gay siya),” sagot ng premyadong aktor.
Nagbigay ng ehemplo si Raymond na ang lalaking-lalaking tulad ni James Dean ay naisip na gustong magkaroon ng karelasyong lalaki para madama nito kapag nabigyan siya ng role na gay.
“One of my favorite actor, James Dean na napakalalim na aktor at magaling mag-portray ng character, one time sabi niya sa bestfriend niya, ‘I want to try to be in a relationship to go to bed with a man. How can I feel if I’m given a role as a homosexual, how can I do it, so parang ginawa nga niya, but he was a man,” kuwento ni Raymond.
Sabi pa, ”so ako, hindi ko puwedeng i-limit ang sarili ko. Love has no gender, that is the message of this film, kasi ang love galing sa puso, eh. I don’t know what I am, I like to be a human being na marunong magmahal at mag-appreciate ng tao.”
Confused ba si Raymond sa gender niya? ”I don’t think I’m confused, I just don’t like myself a category or I don’t like to limit myself who I am, ‘coz marami pang growth as a human being hindi pa tapos ang buhay ko, may bukas pa, may next week pa, so, I don’t know what to discover, life for me is a discovery, it’s a journey hindi ko puwedeng isarado at sabihin sa madla na ito lang ako kasi baka bukas may madagdag sa akin o may mabawas sa akin.”
At hindi naman itinanggi ng aktor na may offer sa kanya ang same sex na magkaroon sila ng relasyon.
“There’s always an offer especially in this industry, ‘di ba? This is an eccentric industry,” mabilis nitong sabi.
Anyway, panoorin ang Love is Love at alamin ang magandang kuwento na ang love ay walang gender at boundaries sa Disyembre 4 mula sa RKB Productions na idinirehe ni GM Sampedro. Kasama rin sina JC de Vera, Jay Manalo, Rufa Mae Quinto, Rosanna Roces, Marco Alcaraz, Johnny Revilla, at Roxanne Barcelo.
FACT SHEET
ni Reggee Bonoan